A Monastery Reborn – The Abbey of Saint Bernard de Clairvaux, Miami
Tucked amid the palm-lined streets of North Miami Beach lies one of the most unexpected sacred treasures in the Americas — the Ancient Spanish Monastery of Saint Bernard de Clairvaux.
Originally constructed in 1141 A.D. in Segovia, Spain, this magnificent Cistercian monastery was dedicated to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the spiritual architect and fierce advocate of the Knights Templar. Saint Bernard authored the foundational text In Praise of the New Knighthood, which gave theological legitimacy to the formation of the Order — defending the idea of a monastic knight in service to Christ.
Centuries later, this sacred structure was dismantled stone-by-stone and shipped to the United States in the 1920s by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, only to remain in storage until it was reassembled in Miami in the 1950s, where it was consecrated anew as a parish and sacred cultural landmark.
Today, the monastery — now known as the Church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux — serves not only as an active Episcopal parish and heritage site, but also as the home of a modern Priory of the Knights Templar. Within its ancient cloisters, Knights and Dames gather for vigils, investitures, and spiritual fellowship, continuing the legacy that Saint Bernard helped inspire nearly 900 years ago.
It stands as a living link between the medieval Templar mission and today’s call to chivalric service, grounded in faith, charity, and devotion.
